Page 75 of Not Looking
“Randy?”
He glanced up. “Hmm?”
I swallowed. “About yesterday…” I started.
His eyes fell again.
I sighed. “I don’t want it to be a one-time thing.”
“I…” he paused. “I’m not a casual guy.”
I reached across the table and rested a hand on his. “I don’t want to be casual with you.”
He looked up and blinked at me. “What?”
I squeezed his hand. “Randy, I don’t know what happened in your past. You’ve said things that tell me you’ve been hurt, though. And the guys at the mill have told me that you’ve been single for a long time.”
I paused and took a deep breath. “I’ve been attracted to you since I met you. I don’t want yesterday to be a one-time thing, or even something casual. Randy…” Another breath. “If you’ll let me, I’d like to court you.”
“Court me?” he whispered.
I nodded. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but…” I licked my lips. “You’ve been timid and unsure already this morning, and… I wanted to tell you where I stand before you had a chance to convince yourself that you're the man alphas don’t want again.”
He gaped at me. “I… I…”
I smiled at him and slid my hand so that my fingers were against his palm, and I ran my thumb back and forth over the backs of his fingers.
His eyes fell to the table. “I’m scared,” he whispered.
My thumb stopped, and I squeezed his hand. “It’s ok to be scared.” I chuckled. “Hell, I’m scared right now. What if the most amazing man I’ve ever met tells me he doesn’t want me to court him?”
He let out a wet laugh.
“I can’t promise that everything will be perfect,” I murmured. “But I’m hoping you’ll give me a chance.”
He was silent for several agonizing minutes before finally nodding. “Ok.”
I smiled. “You’ll let me court you?”
He nodded again, then looked up and met my gaze. “Yes.”
My smile widened. “I kind of want to shout from the rooftops how excited I am,” I chuckled. “But I don’t think you’d appreciate that.”
His cheeks darkened with an adorable shade of pink. “I… um…”
“Don’t worry. I understand that you’re a private man. I won’t put any announcements in the paper.”
“That’s where the fewest people would see it,” he replied with a shy smirk.
I burst into laughter. “There you are.”
He tilted his head to one side. “Hmm?”
“You’ve got a bit of a sassy streak. I like it.”
His blush deepened.
“We should eat before it gets cold,” I said.
